Tuesday

Dec 4, 2018 at 7:19 PMDec 5, 2018 at 3:02 PM

Sometime Sunday night, probably right around the time that Joe Haden was called for a bogus offside that wiped out a missed Mike Badgley field goal that would have sent the Steelers' prime time showdown with the Chargers to overtime, you probably found yourself screaming to anyone that would listen, either in your living room or on social media, that the refs had robbed the Steelers of a win.

For once, you would have been correct. Multiple egregious officiating gaffes gifted the Chargers with 14 points and gave Badgley another chance at a game-winner, which he nailed, despite two, much more credible, illegal backfield incursions by Artie Burns.

Blaming the refs is usually a strategy for sore losers, but the Pittsburgh Steelers got jobbed, plain and simple.

The one group that can't afford to actually dwell on this, of course, is the Pittsburgh Steelers. They'd do well to channel all of that angry energy into being better in all facets, preferably as soon as possible.

As bad as the calls were, they weren't the only contributing factor to a loss that left Mike Tomlin and his team stalled in neutral while Lamar Jackson and the Ravens, back from the dead, scream up behind them in the AFC North.

Tomlin, Keith Butler, Randy Fichtner and Ben Roethlisberger all bear plenty of responsibility for Sunday's historic loss, one that saw the Steelers blow a 16-point lead at home for the first time in franchise history.

Tomlin was terse when talking about the role of the zebras in taking from his team what seemed like a sure victory, but he should look in the mirror before he falls down a critical rabbit hole.

After all, he's a defensive guy, and it was the Steelers' defense that had no answer for Los Angeles' Keenan Allen, who routinely lined up in the slot against Jon Bostic or L.J. Fort, or some other person utterly ill-equipped to slow him down, much less stop him. This was never more true than on a pivotal third-and-four play on L.A.'s final drive, one that saw Allen easily win his matchup against Bostic and move the chains.

Maybe he thought the Steelers didn't need any halftime adjustments, given their 23-7 lead, one the head coach presumably thought should have been 23-0 on account of an ill-gotten Chargers touchdown, one that came on a play that should have been blown dead for an obvious false start.

Apparently Butler was satisfied with his defense, because he had no answers for Allen, Philip Rivers or Justin Jackson, who shredded Butler's run defense after Austin Ekeler netted a total of one yard in the first half.

Fichtner and Roethlisberger must have been quite comfortable resting on their laurels at halftime, fat and happy after a late touchdown staked them to that 23-7 advantage. Their first three drives of the second stanza netted a total of 35 yards on 15 plays.

As in Denver, they mostly eschewed the run, and though they did put together a clutch drive to tie the game at 30, Roethlisberger's sloppiness in the first half cost them plenty of points. First, he threw an inexplicable interception that took at least three points off the board. Then, he missed a wide-open Justin Hunter on a play that a high school quarterback could have executed, and the Steelers had to settle for a field goal. Those two plays combined could have made the difference. Instead, they went the Chargers' way.

The referees were truly atrocious Sunday night, but the Steelers did themselves no favors. They made no adjustments, and Los Angeles mostly did as they pleased in the second half.

A road date in Oakland comes next, then New England and New Orleans loom in back-to-back weeks. If the Steelers want to maintain their hold on the AFC North, they would do well to ignore the missed calls, take a hard look in the mirror, and point a finger at the most deserving target — themselves.

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